The Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin

08/17/2026

📚 This back-to-school season, we're celebrating what happens when communities come together.

By supporting partnerships that regreen urban schoolyards 🌿 , TNC is helping create spaces where kids can connect with nature, learn and play in safe, green outdoor spaces, and build a healthier future for their neighborhoods.

See how collaboration is making a difference in Milwaukee: https://nature.ly/4fYU8o4

08/15/2026

When we come together for conservation, even the rarest of flowers can blossom. 🌸

Painted Trillium, or Trillium undulatum, is a unique wildflower native to the eastern United States. For our Midwestern neighbors in Ohio, it is considered state-endangered and can only be found in one county across the entire state. But at TNC's Morgan Swamp preserve, a pocket of about 800 of these rare flowers are thriving today thanks to one simple project executed in 2017: constructing an eight-foot-high fence to prevent deer from eating the plants.

Since then, TNC staff have surveyed the plants annually, ensuring that the population continues to flourish and expand. This year, the survey took place in mid-May—right when these plants were in peak bloom. Derrick Cooper, Northeast Ohio preserves manager at TNC in Ohio, shares more about this conservation effort in this video.

Growing and protecting populations of native plants is a vital tool to combat biodiversity loss across the Midwest, and this kind of simple, yet effective conservation solution serves as a model for similar restoration work that could be recreated in Wisconsin. 💡

Learn more about this inspiring comeback story. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/ohio/stories-in-ohio/painted-trillium-thrive-at-morgan-swamp/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

08/06/2026

Millions of acres of U.S. farmland could support agroforestry right now. 🌲

This new project is helping farmers take advantage of that opportunity—providing funding, technical support, and market connections to put these practices into action. Good for farms. Good for nature.

Learn more: https://www.nature.org/en-us/what-we-do/our-priorities/provide-food-and-water-sustainably/expanding-agroforestry-production/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

The Nature Conservancy, along with many project partners, have launched the Expanding Agroforestry Project, an effort funded by a Partnerships for Climate-Smart Commodities award.

07/31/2026

Meet your friendly neighborhood spiders 👋🕷️ Despite often getting painted as villains, these critters are actually heroes in Wisconsin's ecosystems – and in our own homes and gardens, devouring millions of common pests every year.

Celebrate the release of the new Spider-Man movie by getting to know a few of the common types of spiders that you might spot in your yard or basement:

🌼 Jumping spiders: Adorable Ambushers 🌼 Despite their cute appearance and tiny size, these spiders are ambush predators that can leap 10-40 times their own body length! They can see almost 360° with their eight eyes, giving them a real spidey-sense. When they roam from flower to flower in search of their next meal, they also inadvertently pick up and transfer pollen, aiding in the pollination of many plants.

🕸️ Orb-weavers: The Amazing Spider-Architects 🕸 These large, colorful spiders are the virtuosos behind the iconic, intricately designed wheel-shaped webs that can stretch up to three feet wide. Their webs are made of strong, yet flexible silk and can even be engineered to trap specific types of prey. To keep the web extra sticky and primed to capture their victims, many species actually take down their webs nightly and spin a fresh new one by morning!

🦀 Crab spiders: Master Mimics 🦀 Spiders from this family specialize in camouflaging themselves to sneak up on their prey. First, they pick busy spots where they can lurk undetected – tucked between flower petals, leaf litter, or bark that resemble the colors of their bodies. Then, they wait for the perfect moment to strike with their two long, thick front legs. Some species can even change their body color to match their hiding spot, making them even more lethal predators.

🐺Wolf Spiders: Nightcrawlers 🐺 Move over Jacob! Like real wolves, these spiders are hairy, fast-moving hunters that stalk their prey after nightfall. Most wolf spiders don’t spin webs – they like the thrill of the hunt before feasting. These spiders are also some of the largest species found across the Midwest, averaging around three inches in length.

Spiders aren’t the only superpowered animals in Wisconsin. Learn about more amazing animals. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/priority-landscapes/midwest/superpowered-animals/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

07/29/2026

The real secret to beating the heat this summer? Trees. 🌳

Trees have incredible powers that cool our streets, clean the air, and reduce flooding all while serving as habitat for many animals like migrating birds. They're absolutely vital for human health and wellness—especially in urban areas. That's why in cities throughout the Midwest, TNC is supporting partners and their community-led efforts to implement regreening projects in their own neighborhoods, like planting trees in areas with low tree canopy.

For instance, Chicago's Marshall Square neighborhood welcomed 122 new trees on a previously treeless road last year thanks to our partners at Latinos Progresando and local community members. And these trees aren't just helping improve climate resiliency and human health for community members—Latinos Progresando Chief Programs Officer Nubia Willman shares, "For a lot of our tree keepers, it really adds this feeling of accountability and connection to the community. You're living here, and you’re helping care for this shared space, this shared resource.”

Programs rooted in people and place like this can serve as models of community-led regreening projects for other cities and urban areas across the Midwest. Dive deeper into this story and learn more about the importance of nature-based solutions in urban areas. https://www.nature.org/en-us/about-us/where-we-work/united-states/illinois/stories-in-illinois/regreening-marshall-square-chicago/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

07/26/2026

Some Midwest moths have names so weird they sound completely made up. 👀 Can you spot the fake moth name? Swipe through and let us know which one you think is the imposter below!

Moths are way more than butterflies’ drab cousins. They're important pollinators and a vital part of healthy ecosystems, helping native plants, birds, bats, and other wildlife thrive. (Also, while there are around 750 butterfly species in the U.S., there are nearly 11,000 species of moths!)

In Wisconsin, TNC is protecting and restoring habitats to make sure these underappreciated little heroes have the plants and places they need to keep flying, pollinating and doing their part for nature.

👇 Tell us: ❓Which name fooled you? Which moth name is your favorite (even if it’s not on this list!)?

And for those of you who want to do a deeper dive on these moths, here are their common and scientific names:

➡️The Batman (Coelostathma discopunctana)
➡️Ursula Wainscot (Leucania ursula)
➡️The Laugher (Charadra deridens)
➡️Morbid Owlet (Chytolita morbidalis)
➡️The Hag (Phobetron pithecium)

07/24/2026

Agroforestry is used on less than 2% of U.S. farmland—but millions of acres are ready for it. 🌳🌾

A new collaborative project is helping farmers put trees to work on their land—boosting income, improving soil and water, and supporting wildlife. Learn more: https://nature.org/ExpandingAgroforestry?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

07/23/2026

At a time when habitat is increasingly threatened by development, drought, flooding, and wildfires, we need more effective protections and incentives for habitat restoration, not fewer.

The Trump administration recently announced a rule that will rescind the longstanding definition of what it means to “harm” a plant or animal under the Endangered Species Act—saying that habitat destruction is no longer a prohibited form of harm to an endangered species.

This is not the time to weaken the Endangered Species Act, which for more than 50 years has prevented the extinction of approximately 99% of all species that have fallen under its purview.

Read TNC’s full statement. https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/endangered-species-act/?en_txn1=s_fbo.reg_mw.x.x

📸 Photo of piping plover with five chicks tucked under his feathers by Steffen Foerster/TNC Photo Contest 2022

07/20/2026

Our friends at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources would like your input on the state park system's next 10-year strategic plan: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/WSPSstratpln

Your input will help guide the system’s priorities and actions in the coming years at beloved recreation areas across the state. The short public survey is open through August 4th.

Take this survey powered by surveymonkey.com. Create your own surveys for free.